1One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. 2The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”
3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. 4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. 5A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” 6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement. 7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.
Revelation 17:1-7
8The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died. 9“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. 10Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. 11“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. 12The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. 13They will all agree to give him their power and authority. 14Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”
Revelation 17:8-14
15Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language. 16The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. 17For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. 18And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”
Revelation 17:15-18
This is a difficult passage to interpret because the woman in focus could well be multiple women combined into one composite character. Does this woman represent Babylon? Does she represent Rome? Is she a combination of a number of different empires? Different commentators have a different take on who this woman is and what she represents. In essence in these three sections outlined above we have:
- John’s description of the woman in the vision. (17:1-7)
- John’s explanation of her significance via the angel. (17:8-14)
- John is told the punishment that will befall her. (17:15-18)
Here is my summary of the distinctive features of this woman from Revelation 17:
- 1) A great prostitute who rules over many waters.
- 2) Kings of the world committed adultery with her.
- 3) Her subjects drank her wine of immorality.
- 4) She ruled ‘on the back’ of the beast.
- 5) Blasphemies against God were written over it, with her on it.
- 6) Clothed in opulence and wealth.
- 7) Steeped in obscenity, impurity and immorality.
- 8) Associated with Babylon.
- 9) Drunk with the blood of God’s people, witnesses of Jesus.
- 10) Ruled in Rome, the city of seven hills.
- 11) Ruling the waters of the people of every nation and language.
- 12) Represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.
Along with some leading questions:
- Why are Rome (current in John’s time) and Babylon (historic) connected?
- How can this woman represent both Babylon and Rome?
- Why the tense changes in the nature of her ruling? [“ruled”, “ruling”, “rules”]
- Why is Rome not specified in the list as opposed to being “the city of seven hills”?
Historical Background
This rare coin was minted in AD 71 during Vespasian’s reign (69 – 79 AD).
On the Head of the Coin is an image of Vespasian with the letters:
- IMP CAESAR VESPASIANUS AUG – Imperial Caesar Vespasianus Augustus
- PM = Pontifax Maximus – Greatest Priest; TP = Tribunica Protestas – Tribunal Power;
- PP = Pater Patriae – Father of the Fatherland; COS III = Consul for third time.
On the Tail of the Coin is an image of the Goddess Roma sitting on the 7 hills of Rome:
- A small sword (parazonium) resting on her left knee symbolising the military might of Rome;
- Framed by the letters SC which stand for senatus consultum = Resolution of the Senate.
- By Roma’s right foot is an image of the river god Tiber.
- At lower left is a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus.
Source: Word Biblical Commentary 52c – Revelation 17-22, David E. Aune, Thomas Nelson: 1998
The Significance of the Combination of Babylon and Rome
Combining Babylon and Rome is a stroke of brilliance. Babylon is linked to Babel, the first mention of which depicts mankind speaking the same language (Gen 11:1) building a city with a tower to reach to the sky (Gen 11:4). The implication is that mankind will assail heaven and become like gods (Gen 11:6). The consequence was that God confused their common language and scattered them across the earth. Something I have been fascinated about for decades is the common thread or line of world conquering empires which arise from the area of the land between the two rivers.
In Gems 2340 and 2341 I referred to the empires which arose from the land between the two rivers. Babel is the first biblical reference to the beginnings of empires bent on world domination, stemming from the desire of humanity to assail heaven itself.
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.
Matthew 11:12
I believe John, after being shown the visions and having them explained to him is using Babylon as the first of these empires and Rome as the last [as I wrote in Gem 2340]. John used these two prime examples and switched between them for that reason. Hence this ‘Revelation 17 woman’ exemplifies both the spirit of Babylon and Rome. I will draw out specifics from Chapter 17 as we examine the detail recorded. All the distinctive features listed above are relevant. Many Christians become confused from Revelation 17 onward as the woman appears to be switched back and forth as representing Babylon and then Rome.
Have you noticed how we have another woman added later, the Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ is contrasted brilliantly with this prostitute woman. Thus the images form a contrastive allegory exposing the big picture schema of what is happening. The women contrast, much like the cities representing the empires contrast, thus we have to consider the role of Jerusalem as the heavenly city as well. A tale of two rivers, two cities, two empires along with the cities and their inhabitants who are contrasted as well. At the time of the end (in apocalyptic terms) those who have the mark of the beast and whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are in contrast with those who have God’s mark and whose names are found in the Book of Life. In short, all contrasts are relevant and alive in this grand allegory.
I will trust you will bear with me as I draw on some historical background which helps pull all this together. Why are rivers and waters mentioned so much? Look at verse 15 in the text of Chapter 17 above! I have coloured it red because it is important. A nation ruled in the ancient world by virtue of its dominance over the water: seas and rivers and lakes. Empires ruled on the basis of the strength of their navies (armadas). Hence the comment in verse 1 concerning the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The cities were situated on the coast or on major rivers allowing access to the hinterland and to the sea and oceans in order to dominate other nations. The natural extension of which culminates in the statement of verse 15 with “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language.” Do you see now why John has this seven fold repetition of Tribe, Language, People, Nation – Does it Matter? Oh, yes it does matter!
I will highlight some more links for you before I close this Gem, which is already too long. But how do I keep them short when there are so many elements to draw together? Like I have said already, what a brilliant piece of writing! There is more, but I am fully aware that many of you are already a step ahead of me. Notice the detail in Vespasian’s coin above. The reference to Roma is important. Roma was the resident goddess of Rome who protected the city. Athena was the goddess over Athens, the capital city of Greece. Rome as situated on the river Tiber, Babylon on the Tigress. Are you getting the picture?
I am sure I don’t have to remind those of you who have been following the Gems on Revelation from the beginning. But for the sake of those who have just joined this website, the historical background to the cities of the seven churches, the recipients of John’s letter, is hugely relevant. If you missed the background to each of the seven cities go back and read or reread The Letter to the Seven Churches. Each one of those cities embody what living in Rome was all about. Cities steeped in idolatry of the Roman gods, merchants trapped by the requirements of the Trade Guilds and the gods and evil spirits they worshipped and to whom they owed allegiance. Combined with that, the sexual license, immorality and wonton lust demonstrated by temple prostitutes and orgies. That was a snapshot of life under Roman rule and indicative of life in the ancient world. Little wonder that the content before us is written as it is.
I will answer the last of my leading questions posed in the list above. Why is Rome not mentioned specifically in verse 9 above? Simply because apocalyptic writing couched details in encoded ways. It was not beneficial to your health to be criticising Rome when you were under the Roman rule. It was best to refer to Babylon but in so doing mean Rome. Remember, to come straight out and refuse to confess Vespasian or worst yet, Nero, as god and benefactor of the city of Rome and indeed the whole Roman Empire was injurious to your health. That in essence made life difficult for Christians. Refusing to bow and acknowledge the emperor when he passed was the obvious tell-tale sign that you were a follower of the Christ. Imagine when it came to other tell tale signs within any Roman city or in fact in the course of everyday life in any city under Roman rule. Imagine Lydia’s dilemma in Thyatira for her to be able to trade in purple cloth during Vespasian’s reign. [Read Gem 2202]
I believe I have clarified some of the brilliance of this section of Revelation sufficiently. In the next Gem I will make clear how the readers in John’s day would have interpreted the woman and the city.
Our vision is often more abstracted by what we think we know than by our lack of knowledge.
Krister Stendahl
Most of us read the Bible out of a sense of duty without really understanding it. Understanding it is dependent upon the effort you put in.
Ian
Revelation is when God bypasses the limitations of your mind and shows you things you otherwise wouldn’t know.
Ian
The doorway into the true knowledge of God is the awareness that what you think you know is nothing compared to the reality of Him.
Heriswita Riana